Performance And Cocktails - Stereophonics

The Stereophonics followed up the 1997 debut album Word Gets Around with an album almost its equal, Performance and Cocktails. The expectation was high to see how the Phonics would or even if they could make a better album. The result? Better no, As Good? Definitely. They had gone from being the Tragic Love Company playing working men’s clubs to being the Stereophonics, playing Wembley and the Millenium Stadium. The reason for writing this op is the release of the Phonics 4th album, You Gotta Go There To Come Back, which hopefully I’ll get to by Thursday. The band have a much larger fan base now than they did back in 1999 when this was released. ...  Read the complete review

I like Stereophonics as inoffensive, radio friendly rock, but never really imagined that I'd think much of a whole album by them. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this, their second album, is in fact right up my street, and on the whole a lot heavier and more aggressive than I expected. It's also the album that very much put them on the map as a band to watch. What's most distinctive isn't the guitar work or drums, but the vocals of singer Kelly Jones - he's got a very rough, husky voice that is a nice antidote to the otherwise very jovial and friendly tunes - it makes them seem a little more genuine and rough around the edges than if they ...  Read the complete review

PERFORMANCE AND COCKTAILS is the title of the album from Welsh indie rockband STEREOPHONICS. The album consists of 13 tracks. The album kicks off with ROLL UP AND SHINE a faster paced track full of energy particularly when the guitar kicks in. THE BARTENDER AND THE THIEF is a clever song with inventive lyrics and tells a great story aided by the music. HURRY UP AND WAIT is another fast paced energetic track that gets your head going up and down whilst your tapping your feet. PICK A PART THAT'S NEW is a mellow track with a singalong chorus and is also quite a well known song. JUST LOOKING is another famous song ...  Read the complete review

Back on the 8th March 1999 Stereophonics released a much anticipated second album but by this time I already had a copy and had penned a less than complimentary review (alas this 150 word piece of concise/poor reviewing is now lost amongst the Barefacts archives). I really liked the Stereophonics debut album 'Word Gets Around' (I've said as much on here) and was impressed by the single 'The Bartender and The Thief so upon getting my hands on an advance copy I was most happy. On the very first listen my smile gave way to a frown on the realisation that they'd not substantially moved on and had managed to release an album of unmemorable ...  Read the complete review

The Stereophonics’ second album, released in 1999 amid high expectations from their excellent debut, “Word gets around” (see my other opinion on that) and we were not let down. 13 tracks, 5 releases, 5 excellent videos (not on the CD, but available on video/DVD) this is one of my favourite albums ever. 1 – Roll Up And Shine It starts off pretty loud and heavy, but bland, with “Roll up and shine” this is a good song, but not the highlight of the album by a few miles. 2 – The Bartender And The Thief Then it gets better with “the Bartender and the Thief”, this was the first release and is an ...  Read the complete review